VentureMan_2000

The scouting programs in the US has put into place background checks, leader education, 2-person leadership requirements, and more... yet problems still arise. Predators can be pretty clever. There is no foolproof panacea for this.

Omelets: I prefer to stand in line for a fresh made omelet in front of me... made to order, on Lido. Otherwise, MDR -- two eggs to order, toast, a meat choice, hash-brownettes... and coffee.

There seems to be an awful lot of angst for some people regarding tipping. Seems those are the people that reduce or eliminate their tips on board... and sometimes through what appears to be a wall of mirrors that they think masks this.

Yup... was trying to convey the same in far fewer words.

This is per person for a 6-day cruise. I like doing the math... $28.08 / $96 = 29.25% for Stateroom Steward $45.36 / $96 = 47.25% for Team Dining Services $22.56 / $96 = 23.50% for Alternate Services Drinks have gratuities of 18$ automatically added... you do not need to pay more. I know the steak house price include gratuities -- you do not need to TIP more. Assuming the same for any paid restaurants. You can see the above breakdown that gratuities include eating on the Lido/buffet (team dining services). Tipping beyond the suggested $16 per person, per day, is not suggested or required.

I'm sure each of the generations applauds your generalities about them. May I know your age ?

Perhaps the cruise code doesn't work because they actually mean cruises between Dec 3 and Dec 31, 2023.

And you post on this forum... why ?

I don't understand how people managed to cruise pre-internet -- savages... 🤣

I find their promotion confusing... Sounds like only for cruises from Dec 3 thru Dec 31... "Coupon cannot be combined with other offers and only applies to new orders placed online prior to sailing 11/24/2023 -11/29/2023 for sailings 12/3/2023 - 12/31/2023. See additional details below"

Makes sense... We eat out 1 - 2 times a month. But as I said, I don't mind a $100 gift card for a local restaurant we might purchase at a discount at Costco or Sam's. They tend to be a 20% - 25% discount.

The Elephant in the room is why are any of you allowing Stockperks to connect to your money... 😲

What is HMC ?

How about chairs and lounges... are those free ? Are there plenty of them ? Can you bring your own beach chair ?

Gift cards make me uncomfortable for the reasons mentioned. I don't mind a $100 gift card for a local restaurant we might purchase at a discount at Costco or Sam's... But it does make me anxious until it's used. Will the restaurant go out of business before we get a chance to use it, etc.

We did exactly that this past September... we arrived at 9:00am for a 10:00 check-in. I'd say that was a perfect time to arrive. There were porters there to take your bags, and was not very crowded. We were instructed to form a line off to the side of the turnaround near the vendor kiosks. Everyone wait patiently in line and eventually started calling for the 10:00 folks who are priority folks- Diamonds, Platinum, FTTF... then everyone else by their checking time. Went very smooth. Once checked in, you took a seat, and waited to be called by your category A01, and, etc.

Great input. After reading your story, I think I'll definitely stick with Carnival's shuttle to the airport... sounds easy.

We started watching the show "To Catch A Smuggler" on Disney+ yesterday. It's a National Geographic series -- not a Disney+ specific show. It's a very interesting show. I also highly suggest folks watch it... didn't realize to what levels folks go through to smuggle drugs. For the record, I'm all for a many drug sniffing dogs as they can use, and for using them any time of the day of night on a cruise ship. Shouldn't be an issue unless you have something to hide.

Hub App only works once you are on the ship.

Sounds correct. Saw a youtube featuring turn-around day. The stewards have 18 rooms to turn around -- only 15 minutes per room, need to be done by 1ish.

Let's do some more math... I like doing the math... $28.08 / $96 = 29.25% for Stateroom Steward $45.36 / $96 = 47.25% for Team Dining Services There are two ways we can interpolate the remaining percentages: 1. Continue with the equations, $22.56 / $96 = 23.50% for Alternate Services 2. find the remaining difference between 100 and forementioned calculations, 100 - 29.25 - 47.25 = 23.50 -- or, 23.50% for Alternate Services 😁

We were talking with a veteran bartender on our cruise who said that the cocktail wait staff at the pool and roaming the ship are newbies at the bottom of the bar hierarchy, just starting out, so they only get a base wage plus a sales percentage -- which makes sense as you always see them pushing the drinks in the dolphin, shark, and coconut glasses. They do not share in the 18% gratuities.

I've always found this funny as h-e-double hockey sticks... It's a sure-fire way to enforce the Muster ( Go Muster ! ) for the majority of cruisers... 🤣

hoping this somehow makes applying easier... all the redacting of my portfolio documents is a pain.

I'm surprised that if Christmas was on a Sea Day, that they didn't encourage a Pajamas Seaday brunch in the MDR.